Preference formation in demand for live theatre

Abstract

In economics, the concept of preferences is fundamental to the theory of choice. In many demand analyses, preferences are taken as given, although interesting questions can be asked about how they originate. In this paper, we consider the formation of preferences in demand for live theatre. We propose a model where preferences are derived from certain identifiable types of experience gained from past attendances at live theatre productions, as well as from some characteristics of consumers including their theatre-related human capital and their habitual behaviour patterns in attending a performance. We hypothesise that the preferences formed through these processes determine conditional demand for future live theatre consumption. The model is estimated as a two-stage system using data from a recent survey of theatregoers. The paper is interdisciplinary in its approach, drawing its modelling and methodologies from economics, and its interpretation of results from the academic discipline of theatre studies.